Falcons Petrino: Vick To Call Plays

MIAMI BEACH, Fla. (Feb. 2, 2007) -- Taking a different tact than his predecessor, Atlanta Falcons coach Bobby Petrino will let Michael Vick take a more active role in running the offense.

That includes allowing Vick to call audibles.

Under previous coach Jim Mora, Vick basically had to go with whatever play was called by offensive coordinator Greg Knapp, even if it looked doomed when the quarterback got to the line and studied the defensive alignment.

Vick's only options were changing the protection scheme and calling which side of the field to run the play.

Things will be different under Petrino, who was lured away from Louisville after Mora was fired.

"We're going to put it all on him," the new coach said while making the rounds at the Super Bowl media center. "It's new to him, but he's excited about the challenge. I think that's the way you train a quarterback."

Petrino said Vick "really believes in himself to get it done."

Mora was let go after the Falcons finished 7-9 and failed to make the playoffs for the second successive season. The team reached the NFC championship game during the 2004 season, but fell apart in the second half of the past two seasons.

Two weeks ago, Vick came under scrutiny after officers seized a water bottle from him at Miami International Airport. Police said it smelled of marijuana and had a secret compartment, but lab tests found no evidence of drugs.

The Falcons initially came down hard on Vick, with general manager Rich McKay proclaiming that his star player had "let a lot of people down." Since Vick was cleared, the team has dismissed trade rumors and reiterated he will be the No. 1 quarterback.

"It was a little interesting, I guess," Petrino said. "But the situation got resolved and we put it behind us."

Petrino was in Miami at the urging of owner Arthur Blank, who thought it would be good for the new coach to do some networking with the pros after spending most of his career in the college ranks.

"Arthur had to talk me into it a little bit," said Petrino, who will fly back to Atlanta the morning of Feb. 4. "I thought I had a lot to do, but he went through my wife and kids to get it done. They're down here, too, and having a great time."

Petrino has studied extensive film on Vick's passing style and talked with the quarterback about what he "needs to do to get better and what the people around him need to do to get better."

To that end, Petrino acknowledged the need for changing the philosophy of the offensive line, which favored smaller, quicker players and relied on zone blocking schemes under Mora. While the Falcons led the league in rushing the past three years, they struggled to give Vick adequate protection when he dropped back to pass.

A major overhaul is impossible, Petrino said, but the new staff will encourage its linemen to get bigger and stronger.
"One of the things we're finding is that it takes all the guys on offense doing their job at the highest level for a play to work," he said. "We've got to make sure we give Mike the time and space to make his throws. We've got to make sure the receivers are exactly where they need to be. You've got to be able to do both things to throw the ball downfield."

Petrino said he has full confidence Vick can become a more well-rounded quarterback. Last season, he became the first QB in NFL history to rush for 1,000 yards, but ranked near the bottom of the league's passer ratings.

"He can make all the throws you need to make in this league," Petrino insisted.

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Does that mean that Atlanta will give up on zone blocking totally or, even better for us, release some linemen who are already familiar with the ZBS?

If Vick is be able to change the plays, I would think that you would want the linemen to run block since they probably won't drop back to pass all that often.

This is not big news. A lot of quarterbacks, probably most of them, are allowed to call audibles.

But the part you highlighted is interesting. There was a Sunday night game in Denver this past season where Al Michaels asked John Madden why the zone blocking scheme is not used by more teams, even though the Broncos have had so much success with it. Madden said that maybe it's because it requires smaller linemen, which creates problems in pass protection. This article supports what Madden said. I hope the Packer linemen can get stronger so they don't need so much help in pass protection this year. Clifton and Tauscher are fine, obviously. It's the young interior linemen who need to improve.